ICC Player Of The Month Award Announced, India Beater Rewarded

Sonal Dinusha of Sri Lanka wins ICC Player of The Month Award vs India. Image Credits: AFPThe ICC has unveiled the winner of the ICC Player of the Month award for the month of August 2026. For his prolific Test series against India at home, the apex body named Sri Lanka’s rising star, Sonal Dinusha, for the prestigious honor.Dinusha beat competition from England fast bowler Ollie Robinson and Bangladesh paceman Hasan Mahmud to win the accolade for the first time in his career.Sonal Dinusha wins ICC Player of the Month awardSonal Dinusha has been named as the winner of the ICC Player of the Month award for the month of August 2026, winning the prestigious honor for the first time in his career.The 25-year-old Sri Lankan batter aggregated 420 runs in four innings spanning two Tests against Team India in the month at an astronomical average of 140, plundering three hundreds and one fifty in the process.Also Read- Watch- Sonal Dinusha Combines With Another Lankan Player To Insult IndiaReflecting his latest achievement, the cricketer said “This recognition means so much to me, especially so early in my career, and I’m truly grateful to the ICC for this honour.”He added “The series against India will always hold a special place in my heart. Scoring three centuries was a dream come true, made even more meaningful by achieving them in Colombo and Galle in front of our home fans.”A series to remember for Sonal DinushaSonal Dinusha was selected in Sri Lanka squad for the two-match series against India with just three prior Test caps to his name.With just one fifty in the first five innings of his Test career, the youngster started off the series against India with a majestic century in Galle. He registered another 84 in the second innings but Sri Lanka lost the Test by 165 runs.In the series-decider, Dinusha mounted scores of 103 and 133* to become only the third cricketer in history to plunder two tons in a match where his side was asked to follow-on, joining Vijay Hazare (1948 vs Australia) and Andy Flower (2001 vs South Africa) in an exclusive list.Having reversed his Test fortunes with a generational series, the 25-year-old may have likely cemented his name in Sri Lanka’s red-ball line-up for the long run. He is even averaging 86.57 after playing five Tests in his career.ICC rewards Isle of Man player under Women’s categorySimilarly, the ICC has named Isle of Man player Lucy Barnett as the winner of the ICC Player of the Month award for the month of August 2026 under the women’s category. Overcoming competition from Thailand spinner Suleeporn Laomi and wicketkeeper-batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai, the 19-year-old aggregated 257 runs in just four innings for the Isle of Man Women’s team in the Women's Continental Cup 2026. Leading her side at such a young age, the cricketer punched out a fighting 34-ball 59 against Turkey in the final. She also picked up two wickets in the all-important game, but failed to inspire her team to victory.In match 12 of the competition against Norway, Lucy Barnett blasted 123* runs off just 64 balls with 16 cracking boundaries and four huge sixes at the Ilfov County. Also Read- BCCI Identifies Virat Kohli's Long Term Replacement In India ODI Squad